Hello folks. I’ve been looking for something else, but keep on finding ither things by accident. This website has a few very old images of the theater along with historical information. Just passing through to share.

This is crazy! I’m not a movie buff like the rest of you folks and am only trying to determine the movie theater I went to as a child. I’m discovering more than I ever wanted to know, except what I’m actually looking for.

The Original Tribune Theater at 170 Nassau Street closed in 1959 and moved down Frankfort Street closer to William Street due to an expired lease and increased rent. Since it was no longer in the Tribune or Sun buildings and those names were copyrighted, the new theater had a different name. Perhaps after one of the studios – RKO, Century or Paramount. However, it was still referred to as the Tribune Theater.

Meanwhile in 1961 the old theater reopened as City Hall Cinema. Then of course the entire area was demolished in 1966.

Perhaps one of you followers with the proper resources can help me discover the name of this new short lived theater. I know that West Side Story which was released on 10/18/61 played there. Can one of you please check your publications of newspaper movie ads with listings and times for that time period and look for a theater downtown and specifically on Frankfort Street.

This unknown theater has some significance to me. My older sister took me there to see a Dracula movie when I was just 7 or 8 years old. I’m not sure which one because the theater seems to have screened more reruns than new features. Talk about shock therapy. I have never much cared for horror movies ever since. I need to determine exactly where it was and see a photo of it to purge the demons. lol.

John, part of the confusion lies in mistaking the original real City Hall Cinema at 31-32 Park Row which closed in 1936 for the one noted in the 1965 advertisement. I’m guessing that the theater that was open from 1960 to 1966 after the Tribune Theater closed in 1959 was not actually named the Tribune Theater or City Hall Cinema. However, because of it’s proximity to the Tribune building and City Hall itself, everyone referred to it as both including the newspapers.

The short life of the City Hall Cinema makes it obscure. I’ve spoken to people who actually worked there as ushers, ticket sellers and concessionaire. They all refer to it as the Majestic or Tribune. Regardless of it’s actual company name, people were still going to be calling it the Tribune. Funny thing is, none of them can tell me exactly where it was located. Only just around the corner and down the block. Could have been on Frankfort, Spruce or Beekman Streets, Park Row or even Gold and William Streets.

I also grew up on the lower east side of New York. There’s a mystery about this theater that I can’t seem to solve. Pace University purchased the Tribune building in the early 1960s and the Tribune Theater appears to have closed and reopened as the City Hall Cinema around the corner on Frankfort Street. It had a short life as several blocks in that area including the Tribune building were razed in 1966 to make way for the Pace Civic Center, Bache building and Southbridge Towers. This new theater is the one I remember going to, but can’t find any information or pictures relating to it.